The tall horse sneezed a few times in a row, and Platoon Commander Zhao Qian felt a slight tremor on the horse's body, and gently patted the half-blooded Arabian horse with his hand. In this weather of minus ten degrees, Zhao Qian, who was wearing thick cotton clothes, was also choked on the horse, and it was not uncommon for the Arabian horses from the warm Arabian Peninsula to be a little unbearable. In the education of the army, it is clear that the mammal with the best endurance on the earth is humans. Not lions and tigers, not cows and horses.

Taking off his mask, Zhao Qian turned his head and shouted to the troops behind him: "Let's go to the front station to rest." ”

The cavalrymen, all wearing masks, let out muffled cheers when they heard the good news.

Zhao Qian continued to move forward with his troops, but he was smiling bitterly in his heart, he didn't expect that he would become the platoon commander of the cavalry platoon. The reason is very simple, he has been learning to ride horses with his father Zhao Jiaren since he was a child, and he was selected when he was selected by the army, and he was called 'skilled in riding'. Zhao Qian doesn't hate horseback riding, but his life plan is to complete the three-year military service and then go back to college. Constantly promoted, being left in the army was not Zhao Qian's expectation.

I couldn't help but think of these things in my heart, but Zhao Qian soon had to return his attention to the potholed road in front of him, and even the so-called 'skilled horseman' Zhao Qian had to drive the war horse carefully.

Chang'an, Luoyang, and Kaifeng are known as 'Sanjing'. After the Battle of the Yellow River, the Song army recaptured Kaifeng and Luoyang, and at that time, there were indeed proposals to recapture Chang'an. But Zhao Jiaren didn't want to stretch the front too long. At that time, Henan and Shandong had a total population of more than 2 million, which was not much different from the no-man's land. Extending the front several hundred miles to the west, just thinking about the difficulties of logistics, a more conservative person like Zhao Jiaren has no interest in it.

But as a relatively conservative person, a science and engineering man like Zhao Jiaren pays special attention to preparing logistics. In the past few years, the Song army set up military stations every ten miles along the road from Luoyang through Shaanxi County to Tongguan. At that time, Zhao Jiaren did not expect that the war to recover Chang'an would start in winter, but the Song army, including Zhao Qian, received great benefits from the station.

The Song army's military station pattern was basically the same, with bags made of straw ropes filled with soil and built into an outer wall. The facilities in the military station are very complete, everyone can drink hot water, and there is also a place to warm up. Zhao Qian led the team to the front military station, and saw many donkeys parked in the livestock pen, these guys with long ears provided transportation capacity between the various military stations, whether it was horses or cows, it seemed that there was no adaptability of donkeys. In hay huts with three walls and roofs, donkeys huddle together to keep warm while eating hay slowly.

After the personnel in charge of the rest of the military station finished the record of Zhao Qian's troops, they said to Zhao Qian and them: "There is still room that can only allow you to rest for one hour. ”

"An hour is fine." Zhao Qian replied. He was ordered to rush to Tongguan to participate in the siege battle, and if he really slept here for half a day, he would definitely be dealt with by military law. However, in the weather of minus ten degrees, it is really not good to travel ten miles without taking a break.

It was a room with wooden floors, half of which was for half-reclining and half for horses. When people are cold, so are animals. Warming up isn't just good for people.

There was a stove in the house, and the honeycomb coal in it was made from lumps of coal pulled by donkeys from outside. Zhao Qian couldn't help but shiver several times in a row, and then hurriedly lifted the kettle on the stove and asked everyone to share the hot water. There are two classes in one room, and the room is full of people. The windows were opened, and the people drank hot water, and they took care of the horses, drank some warm water, and ate some soybean meal and other ingredients.

After more than ten minutes of busy work, everyone was half-lying on the bunk to rest. Zhao Qian only felt as if he had just fallen asleep, when he heard someone shouting: "It's time, let's go!" ”

I barely opened my eyes, but I saw the personnel of the military station shouting to them at the door, "It's time, let's go!" ”

Zhao Qian's first reaction was to be unhappy, and then his heart suddenly froze, now is the war, just take a break, and leave when you say it. Zhao Qian actually looked down on those who couldn't keep up with the situation, and at this time he suddenly found that he might not be able to keep up with the situation.

When he got up and woke everyone up, he gained a lot of unfriendly eyes, and some comrades-in-arms hummed and said, "Let me sleep for another five minutes, just five minutes." ”

"Come on, take him out, wash his face with cold water, and wake up his mind." Zhao Qian ordered.

It took five minutes to bring his platoon back to the station. It took another five minutes to complete the formalities, and Zhao Qian led the team on the road to Tongguan. As soon as you leave the station, you can feel the temperature plummet. Although the cold wind was blocked by cotton jackets, cotton hats and masks, the skin exposed to the outside could still feel the stinging sensation brought by the cold wind.

After another rush, Zhao Qian and the others finally arrived in front of Tongguan. This is a big gap in the high slope of the loess, here is the fortress of Xiongguan, and it is also the place where the soldiers once fought for it. However, with the erosion of the soil on the Loess Plateau, there are new convenient roads along the Yellow River, and the army does not have to pass through Tongguan, but can go around the back of Tongguan through a huge new gap, so Tongguan loses a large part of its military value.

At this time, more than 600 troops had been assembled outside Tongguan, and the troops arranged artillery and prepared to attack the city head-on. The cavalry platoon led by Zhao Qian was placed on the left side of the entire battle line, and if the Mongol army in the city suddenly went out of the city to fight, Zhao Qian's task was to outflank their rear road and let the attacking Mongol army have no return.

Sitting on a high war horse, Zhao Qian's heart was excited, he didn't expect his first real battle to start in front of such a famous pass. The so-called standing high and seeing far away, Zhao Qian saw a small crack in the Tongguan city gate, Zhao Qian pressed the handle of the knife, and the whole person became nervous.

A few people came out of it, and it didn't look like they had come out to fight, but to negotiate. The negotiators went back and forth on both sides several times, and Zhao Qian and the others stood in the cold wind for more than three hours. Just when the sky began to darken, the gate of Tongguan finally opened, and a well-dressed guy walked out with the troops. The defenders of Tongguan surrendered.

At this time, Zhao Qian was greatly surprised, the Mongolian army in his imagination should be a brave and warlike army, even if it was not the opponent of the Song army, it would not just surrender directly. However, this is the case, Zhao Qian felt that his previous imagination of war had changed dramatically so suddenly.

At night, when the troops were stationed in Tongguan, everyone looked very polite to the more than 2,000 Mongolian troops who surrendered, and they were still very wary in their hearts. At this time, the Song army that rushed to Tongguan was only more than 1,000 people, and all the Song troops were on duty. Zhao Qian finally had a chance to get close to the commander of the vanguard battalion who led the troops this time, and he asked, "Battalion Commander Song, why did the Mongols coward?" ”

When Battalion Commander Song saw Zhao Qian, he replied in a low voice: "These people are all Han soldiers, and there are few Mongols. According to the Mongol rules, as long as they resisted, regardless of whether they were defeated or surrendered, they must be slaughtered. When these people saw that we were about to attack the city, they naturally surrendered in order to survive. ”

"But we're not Mongols." Zhao Qian pointed out the problem.

"After the Battle of the Yellow River, the Mongols felt that we were better able to fight than the Mongols. Naturally, we felt that we were more ferocious than the Mongols. Speaking of this, the battalion commander lowered his voice again, "We don't slaughter Han people, but we won't let the enemy go either." ”

As a platoon commander, Zhao Qian's job is to obey orders, and higher-level work is not what the platoon commander has to do. Now after listening to the battalion commander's account, he only feels a little chill behind his back, but he still feels that this arrangement actually makes sense. At this moment, I saw a team of people in the distance holding torches towards Tongguan. It should be the team of the Song army.

"Watch the city gates, watch out!" The battalion commander shouted.

After a few seconds of surprise, Zhao Qian suddenly remembered the story about the Xiliu Camp, and couldn't help but sigh secretly in his heart. The so-called rigorous management of the army, father Zhao Jiaren also said. The reason is very simple, that is, seek truth from facts and act according to the law. Therefore, before we can accurately determine who the person from afar is, we need to be so cautious.

However, Zhao Qian found that although he understood this truth, his mind still skipped the actual judgment, but according to the direction of the team and the actions of a large number of torches, it was natural to judge that the other party was Song Jun. However, when the army educated Zhao Qian and these officers, it repeatedly said, "The soldiers are fierce and the battle is dangerous, and they must not be taken for granted." Whether it's an enemy or a friendly army, all that is needed on the battlefield is actual verification. Once you've verified that you're an ally, move on to the next step. It is verified that it is an enemy army, or to proceed to the next step. ”

Seeing the reaction of the battalion commander with his own eyes, Zhao Qian felt that fighting a war was also a matter of knowledge for the first time in his life. After verification, the Song army of Tongguan opened the gate, and more than 1,800 people from two battalions who came to reinforce overnight entered Tongguan. The strength of the Song army in Tongguan exceeded that of the surrendered Mongol army, and Zhao Qian felt that a heart was finally put back in his stomach.

At dawn the next day, more Song troops rushed outside Tongguan. The gateway to Shaanxi was wide open, and about 300 miles to the west was Chang'an. After the capture of Chang'an, the winter operation was basically completed.

In the northwest thousands of miles away from Tongguan, under a cloudy sky, the army of Lord Hao Ren was preparing breakfast. Before coming to crusade against the Chagatai Khanate and the Ogedai Khanate, Kublai Khan gave Hao Ren the title of prince. The 10,000 households of the Jin family are nothing special in the eyes of the Great Song Dynasty, but they are extremely noble on the grassland. Sealing the prince means having a fief. In accordance with the Mongolian rules, the Great Khan Kublai Khan gave a part of the pastures of the Ögedai Khanate to the prince of Haoren.

Hao Ren was not optimistic about this, and he didn't even consider whether the land under his feet was the pasture given to him by the Great Khan. Wan Hu asked the army who was fiddling with the equipment next to him, "Have you measured it?" ”

Although it was winter, the soldiers who were fiddling with the equipment almost looked like they were going to sweat. Hearing Hao Renwanhu's question, the group of people who were fiddling with the calcite and compass all showed embarrassed looks.

"Don't worry, measure carefully." Hao Ren said indifferently.

The compass measures the direction, and it needs to be coordinated accordingly. The measuring device made of calcite required very careful measurements, which was bought at a high price from the Great Song Dynasty. Due to the rhombohedral shape of calcite crystals, they create a double image by refracting or polarizing light. This means that if you look at someone else's face through a clear chunk of calcite, you will see two faces. However, if the crystal is kept in the right position, the dual image becomes a single image, and the surveyor knows that the direction the crystal is pointing is east-west.

Looking at the sun through calcite, when two images of the sun become one, the angle is unique. Even better, even when looking cloudy, calcite's polarized light ability allows it to 'see' the sun behind the clouds.

The ancient Vikings used the three treasures of calcite, sundial, and logbook to steer ships that now seem very bad to run through northern Europe.

Calcite retains its strong refraction in foggy or cloudy or twilight when light is low, meaning it can still be used for navigation in poor visibility. Practical measurements during the Great Song voyage found that even when the sun had already set in the west, calcite was still able to orient navigation within a few degrees.

Unlike other Mongol generals, Hao Ren Wanhu not only fully believed in these technologies, but also had great enthusiasm for using them.

In the nearly a year since they came out, the proficiency of the government soldiers in using telescopes, compasses, and calcite has been greatly improved. They didn't make Wanhu wait too long, and finally came up with an accurate direction.

"Haidu is said to have fled to the north. So we went a little further west to block his way south. Hao Ren gave the order.

As a Mongol, Hao Ren has also learned how to fight on the steppe in the past year. Running after the enemy's ass is the most efficient thing to do, and in such a vast place, everyone has plenty of room to toss and turn. Some of the new wave of Song traitors who fled from the south cursed Zhao Jiaren for being self-righteous and calling himself 'you fight yours, I will fight mine'. These quotes of Zhao Jiaren for the sake of ridicule have become a source of knowledge for Hao Ren's thousands of households.

Follow the enemy's pace, and you will be controlled by the enemy.

This breakfast consists of two things, mare's milk and lamb. On the steppe, there is no need to expect to eat any food from the Central Plains, and these soldiers have been forced to get used to Mongolian food. The Mongol expedition to the west was not a luxury trip, and the Mongol cavalry had to sleep on their horses, marching for several days or even more than ten days. Drink mare's milk when you are thirsty, and drink mare's milk when you are hungry. When I couldn't find a water source, I had to drink horse blood.

That kind of revelry came after the capture of the city, and before enjoying the revelry of victory, the Mongol expeditionary army faced only hardships and more hardships.

Therefore, this Western Expeditionary Army simply poured what could be eaten and drunk into its mouth and swallowed it. Then he packed his bags and continued his march. The same is true for Hao Ren Wanhu, although he often recalls his house in Xiaotangshan in his dreams, but after waking up from the dream, he has to face the cold reality that has nothing to do with Wen Xiangyusoft.

The midwinter in the steppe is exceptionally cold. After marching for an hour, Hao Ren Wanhu reined in his horses on a small hill, and when he looked down, the folk songs of the Northern Dynasties came to the mind of this Mongol, who might be called Sinicization. Eilechuan, under the Yin Mountain, the sky is like a dome, covering the four fields. The sky is blue, the wilderness is vast, the wind blows the grass and sees the cattle and sheep.

The cavalry column flickered like a long snake on the meadows and undulating terrain, the sky was dark, and the wind was cold. Hao Renwanhu, who had experienced the climate in the south of the Yangtze River, felt that Hebei was too dry and cold compared to the south of the Yangtze River, and when he arrived at the grassland, he found that it was only drier and colder, not the driest and coldest.

Not long after, the cavalry escorted a group of prisoners to Hao Ren. The 100 households led by him saluted Hao Ren, and then reported, "10,000 households, catch some deserters from the Haidu Division." ”

Glancing at those guys who were not dressed very well, Hao Ren Wanhu responded: "Leave it to the back for interrogation." ”

Several captives originally lowered their heads, and they couldn't help but raise their heads when they heard Hao Ren's not very good Mongolian dialect. The man at the head hurriedly said, "Wanhu, we are here to defect. ”

"Take it down." Hao Ren Wanhu said.

When the captives were taken away, they shouted vigorously, hoping to provide information directly to Hao Ren Wanhu, but the guards didn't give them a chance to get close to Hao Ren Wanhu at all, and directly dragged them away.

When he couldn't hear the shouting of the captives, Jiang Guangtou, who was in the army next to him, asked, "Lord Wang, why don't you listen to what they have to say." ”

Hao Ren didn't answer immediately, he looked up at the sky where there was no sunlight at all, and under the gray sky, the so-called north, south, west and east made no difference between people who came from afar. In the grassland of the golden family here, Hao Ren, who has been knighted, is an outsider to this grassland. Not only Hao Ren Wanhu, but more than eighty percent of his army were Hebei government soldiers, and they were also outsiders in this grassland.

"At this point, all we can believe in is ourselves." Wan Hu said to Jiang Guangtou.

Dozens of miles away from Hao Renwanhu's army, the Great Khan of Haidu was arranging an ambush position. In order to be able to lure Hao Ren into this ambush circle, Haidu even sent his most loyal subordinates to disguise themselves as deserters.

The Great Khan of the Ögedai Khanate was very anxious, and he knew that his time was running out to fully exert it. By this time it was already winter, and in a month at most, it would be a terrible snow on the prairie. Facing heavy snow in the northern wasteland, where there are no stable settlements, it is more painful to kill yourself with a knife.

Cavalry galloped in, and Haidu Khan could not help but stand up, he was more than anyone else looking forward to the news of the enemy's attack.

"The Great Khan, that kid from the Torre family didn't chase after him, they continued to walk west." The Scout Cavalry brought the latest news.